THE  WALDENSES 

“The  Israel  of  the  Alps” 

B 

BY 

'  ■  i 

WILLIAM  ALEXANDER  BROWN 

S  *  e\  >  1  l 

PHILADELPHIA 


r  <  >  ;  i 

FOURTH  EDITION 


.  PUBLISHED  BY  THE 

r  I  '  1  J  .  i  )  i  £  -  ' 

American  Waldensian  Aid  Society 

213  West  76th  Street 
new  York  city 


AMERICAN  WALDENSIAN  AID  SOCIETY 


President. 

THE  RT.  REV.  DAVID  H.  GREER,  D.D. 
V  ice-Presid  en  ts. 

REV.  D.  STUART  DODGE,  D.D. 

REV.  HENRY  EVERTSON  COBB,  D.D. 
REV.  HENRY  A.  STIMSON,  D.D. 

MISS  EMILY  OGDEN  BUTLER. 


T  reasurer. 

MR.  EUGENE  DELANO, 

Messrs.  Brown  Brothers  &  Company,  59  Wall  Street, 

New  York  City. 

Assistant  Treasurer. 

MRS.  GILBERT  COLGATE. 

Recording  Secretary. 

MISS  CORNELIA  ENSIGN  CADY. 

Corresponding  Secretary. 

MRS.  RICHARD  A.  DORMAN. 

Director  of  Bureau  for  the  Religious  Welfare  of  the 
Italian  Protestant  Immigrant  and  Emigrant. 

REV.  ALBERTO  CLOT. 

General  Secretary. 

MISS  LEONORA  KELSO, 

Headquarters  of  Society,  213  West  76th  Street, 

New  York  City. 


SONNET 

*  On  the  Late  Massacre  in  Piedmont 


Avenge,  O  Lord !  thy  slaughtered  saints,  whose  bones 
Lie  scattered  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold; 

Even  them  who  kept  thy  truth  so  pure  of  old, 

When  all  our  fathers  worshipped  stocks  and  stones, 

Forget  not :  in  thy  book  record  their  groans 
Who  were  thy  sheep,  and  in  their  ancient  fold 
Slain  by  the  bloody  Piedmontese  that  rolled 
Mother  with  infant  down  the  rocks.  Their  moans 
The  vales  redoubled  to  the  hills,  and  they 
To  heaven.  Their  martyred  blood  and  ashes  sow 
O’er  all  the  Italian  fields,  where  still  doth  sway 
The  triple  tyrant;  that  from  these  may  grow 
A  hundredfold,  who  having  learned  thy  way 
Early  may  fly  the  Babylonian  woe. 

— John  Milton. 

*  Probably  written  in  1655.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  observes:  “This 
prayer,  in  behalf  of  the  persecuted  Protestants,  was  not  entirely 
without  effect.  For  Cromwell  exerted  himself  in  their  favour, 
and  his  behaviour  in  this  whole  transaction  is  greatly  to  his 
honour,  even  as  it  is  related  by  an  historian,  who  was  far  from 
being  partial  to  his  memory.  ‘Nor  would  the  Protector  be 
backward  in  such  a  work,  which  might  give  the  world  a  partic¬ 
ular  opinion  of  his  piety  and  zeal  for  the  Protestant  religion, 
but  he  proclaimed  a  solemn  fast,  and  caused  large  contributions 
to  be  gathered  for  them  throughout  the  Kingdom  of  England 
and  Wales.  Nor  did  he  rest  here,  but  sent  his  agents  to  the 
Duke  of  Savoy,  a  prince  with  whom  he  had  no  correspondence 
or  commerce,  and  the  next  year  so  engaged  the  Cardinal  of 
France,  and  even  terrified  the  Pope  himself,  without  so  much  as 
doing  any  favour  to  the  English  Roman  Catholics,  that  that 
Duke  thought  it  necessary  to  restore  all  that  he  had  taken  from 
them,  and  renewed  all  those  privileges  they  had  formerly  enjoyed 
— so  great  was  the  terror  of  his  name;  nothing  being  more  usual 
than  his  saying  that  his  ships  in  the  Mediterranean  should  visit 
Civita  Vecchia,  and  the  sound  of  his  cannon  should  be  heard  in 
Rome.’  See  Echard,  vol.  2.” 


THE  WALDENSES 


“  The  Israel  of  the  Alps” 


There  is  perhaps  no  greater  or  more  important 
work  in  Europe  laid  upon  the  Church  of  Christ  than 
the  evangelization  of  Italy,  that  beautiful  and  classic 
land  of  Dante,  of  Raphael  and  of  Michael  Angelo. 
The  removal  of  the  shackles  of  superstition  from 
the  people  of  Italy,  and  their  emancipation  from 
spiritual  slavery  “into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the 
children  of  God”  is  a  matter  of  the  deepest  import¬ 
ance  to  all  concerned ;  to  the  Church,  upon  whom 
the  task  is  laid;  to  the  Italian  people,  for  whom 
this  great  deliverance  is  to  be  wrought,  and  for  all 
Europe  and  the  world  at  large,  not  only  spiritually, 
but  also  materially,  socially,  politically,  commer- 
cialy,  industrially,  financially. 

In  His  good  providence  God  has  furnished  the 
messenger  for  this  great  work — the  Waldensian 
Church.  Lack  of  space  forbids  any  attempt  to 
give  more  than  an  outline  of  her  heroic  and  blood¬ 
stained  history.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  here  is  a 
native  church,  which  has  occupied  a  few  valleys  in 
Piedmont,  in  Northern  Italy,  adjacent  to  the  bound¬ 
aries  of  France,  from  the  most  ancient  times; 
indeed  it  is  believed  by  many  scholars,  from  the 
time  of  the  apostles  themselves.  The  road  from 
Rome  into  Gaul  and  Spain  led  through  these  valleys, 
and  it  is  believed  that  some  of  the  apostles  and 
early  disciples  of  Christianity  planted  the  gospel 


6 


here  by  their  preaching  and  work,  while  on  their 
journeys  along  this  road.  It  is  also  believed  that 
some  of  those  Christians  who  were  driven  out  of 
Rome  by  the  persecutions  of  Nero  fled  to  this 
remote  district  for  refuge,  and  that  thus  this  ancient 
Church  had  its  beginning.  At  any  rate,  the  Wal- 
densian  Church  has  always  laid  claim  to  the  greatest 
antiquity.  One  of  their  most  noted  pastors,  Henri 
Arnaud,  who  led  their  “glorious  return”  in  1689, 
after  they  had  been  banished  from  their  valleys  for 
their  evangelical  faith,  says  of  them  in  the  preface 
to  his  book  “Glorious  Recovery  by  the  Waldenses 
of  their  Valleys”:  “Neither  has  their  Church  ever 
been  reformed,  whence  arises  its  title  of  Evangelic. 
The  Waldenses  are  in  fact  descended  from  those 
refugees  from  Italy  who,  after  St.  Paul  had  there 
preached  the  gospel,  abandoned  their  beautiful 
country  and  fled,  like  the  woman  mentioned  in  the 
Apocalypse,  to  these  wild  mountains,  where  they 
have  to  this  day  handed  down  the  gospel  from 
father  to  son,  in  the  same  purity  and  simplicity  as 
it  was  preached  by  St.  Paul.”  In  a  petition  pre¬ 
sented  to  their  sovereign,  Philibert  Emmanuel,  Duke 
of  Savoy  and  Prince  of  Piedmont,  in  the  year  1559, 
they  make  this  statement:  “We  likewise  beseech 
your  Royal  Highness  to  consider,  that  this  religion 
which  we  profess  is  not  only  ours,  nor  hath  it  been 
invented  by  men  of  late  years,  as  is  falsely  reported, 
but  it  was  the  religion  of  our  fathers,  grandfathers, 
and  great  grandfathers,  and  other  yet  more  ancient 
predecessors  of  ours,  and  of  the  blessed  martyrs, 
confessors,  prophets,  and  apostles,  and  if  any  can 
prove  to  the  contrary,  we  are  ready  to  subscribe, 
and  yield  thereunto.” 


7 


The  Waldensian  Church  has  always  been  evan¬ 
gelical,  following  closely  to  the  pattern  of  the  prim¬ 
itive  Church,  as  set  forth  in  the  New  Testament. 
By  God’s  hand  she  was  delivered  from  corruption, 
so  that  when  the  Reformation  broke  throughout 
Europe,  Luther  and  the  other  Reformers  were 
astonished  to  find  among  this  peculiar  people  a 
Church  which  had  for  ages  held  and  taught  that 
body  of  truth  which  was  to  them  such  a  new  and 
rich  discovery. 

At  one  time  there  were  as  many  as  40,000 
Waldensians  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont  and  their 
immediate  neighborhood.  Prior  to  the  Reforma¬ 
tion  their  missionaries,  often  disguised  as  peddlers, 
traversed  all  parts  of  Italy.  It  has  been  said  that 
at  one  time  their  missionaries  could  travel  from 
Cologne  to  Florence  and  lodge  in  the  houses  of 
brethren  every  night.  They  had  6,000  followers  in 
Venice  and  as  many  in  Genoa,  besides  many  more 
in  other  places. 

They  were  subjected  to  many  persecutions  from 
the  Church  of  Rome.  From  the  year  1485  until 
the  Edict  of  Emancipation,  issued  by  King  Charles 
Albert  on  February  17,  1848,  they  were  under 
almost  constant  persecution,  although  the  sword, 
the  fagot  and  the  stake  had  largely  ceased  to  be 
used  as  instruments  for  their  destruction  after  the 
year  1730.  For  considerably  more  than  225  years, 
however,  they  were  constantly  subjected  to  fire  and 
sword.  At  the  outbreak  of  what  is  known  as  their 
fourth  great  persecution  by  Louis  XIV  of  France, 
in  1685,  their  number  had  been  reduced  to  15,000. 
At  the  end  of  another  year  their  valleys  were  deso- 


8 


lated;  6,000  had  been  imprisoned,  thousands  more 
were  slain  with  the  sword,  and  2,000  children  were 
torn  from  their  parents  and  immured  in  popish 
institutions.  They  were  then  banished  from  their 
native  valleys  and  sent  to  Geneva.  All  that  remained 
after  this  fearful  period  to  reach  the  historic  city  of 
Calvin  were  2,659 — a  little  over  one-sixth  of  their 
number  one  year  before ! 

Henri  Arnaud,  one  of  their  pastors  and  their 
devoted  leader,  was  soon  inspired  by  God  to  lead 
them  back  to  the  valleys  from  which  they  had  been 
driven,  and  after  many  remarkable  adventures  and 
experiences  he  reached  their  native  valleys  in  1689, 
with  a  band  of  800  devoted  men,  who  fell  upon  their 
foes  and  swept  all  before  them;  they  drove  their 
persecutors  from  their  homes,  and  themselves  reoc¬ 
cupied  them. 

This  ancient  Church,  whose  history  is  written 
in  blood,  still  lives.  The  Word  of  God  is  no  longer 
bound.  God  has  broken  the  bands  of  wicked  men 
and  destroyed  the  power  of  a  corrupt  Church  to 
harm  them.  There  are  once  more  about  20,000 
inhabitants  in  the  Waldensian  Valleys,  now  peaceful 
and  happy. 

They  have  also  about  twenty  groups  of  settlers 
of  various  sizes  in  Uruguay  and  Argentina,  with 
eight  regularly  organized  churches  and  a  college. 
In  the  United  States  they  have  three  agricultural 
settlements;  one  at  Valdese,  N.  C.,  with  fifty-six 
families,  and  an  organized  church  with  an  imposing 
building;  a  smaller  one  near  Gainesville,  Texas,  also 
with  an  organized  congregation  and  a  building,  and 
a  third,  near  Monett,  Mo.,  with  twenty-five  families 


9  . 

and  a  vigorous  church.  Smaller  settlements  are 
also  located  at  Texarkana,  Ark.,  Provo  City,  Utah, 
and  Santa  Ana,  Cal.  There  is  also  a  small  group  of 
Waldensian  families  located  near  Ottawa,  Canada, 
and  there  are  about  five  hundred  native  Waldenses 
in  Greater  New  York  who  have  organized  them¬ 
selves  into  a  body  called  “The  Waldensian  Union,” 
which  holds  regular  religious  services. 

The  home  Church  is  seeking  to  meet  her  great 
opportunity,  for  all  Italy  now  enjoys  civil  and  relig¬ 
ious  liberty,  and  the  gospel  can  be  proclaimed  by 
any  person,  society,  Church  or  other  organization 
throughout  Italy  under  the  protection  of  just  and 
equal  laws. 

Italy  needs  the  gospel.  She  has  largely  cast  off 
the  dominion  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  but  she  has 
as  yet  made  no  decided  choice  as  to  what  she  will 
have  in  its  place.  Which  will  she  choose :  the  gospel 
or  infidelity?  The  answer  to  this  vital  question 
depends  largely  upon  the  Church  of  Christ.  If  she 
presses  through  the  open  door  of  opportunity  now 
before  her,  she  can  occupy  the  land,  but  if  she  fails 
to  do  so,  it  may  ere  long  be  closed  in  her  face  for 
years  to  come. 

The  Italian  people  as  a  whole  are  indifferent  to 
the  Roman  Church.  Vast  multitudes  still  desire 
baptism,  marriage,  extreme  unction  and  burial  at 
her  hands,  but  they  are  otherwise  indifferent  to  her, 
and  her  clergy  are  discredited  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people.  They  know  not  where  to  look  for  anything 
better,  and  skepticism  and  infidelity  largely  prevail. 
Unless  this  is  met  by  the  presentation  of  a  pure 
gospel,  Italy’s  outlook  is  gloomy  indeed.  As  said 


10 


before,  the  answer  to  this  question  depends  largely 
upon  the  Church  of  Christ.  As  a  member  of  that 
Church  what  part  do  you  propose  to  take  in  the 
great  work  of  helping  her  to  make  the  right  choice 
and  to  become  wise  unto  salvation? 

The  Methodists  and  Southern  Baptists  have 
missions  in  Italy,  but  the  rest  of  the  Protestant 
bodies  have  recognized  in  the  Waldensian  Church  a 
divinely  chosen  instrument  for  the  evangelization  of 
that  land,  and  they  have  therefore  left  this  field  to 
her,  and  have  not  established  missions  of  their  own. 

For  many  years,  however,  American  Evangel¬ 
ical  Christians  of  every  other  name  have  been  deeply 
interested  in  “The  Israel  of  the  Alps”  and  her 
zealous  labors  to  spread  the  Gospel  throughout  her 
beloved  Italy. 

Waldensian  Aid  Societies  were  accordingly 
organized  in  a  number  of  American  cities,  with  the 
object  of  providing  financial  assistance  for  this 
ancient  Church,  to  enable  her  to  carry  on  her  mis¬ 
sionary  work.  These  societies  finally  became  so 
numerous  and  the  field  of  their  activities  so  broad¬ 
ened,  that  the  need  of  a  national  organization 
became  apparent  and  in  the  year  1906  the  American 
Waldensian  Aid  Society  was  incorporated,  with 
headquarters  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Since  that 
time  a  large  number  of  the  older  local  societies  have 
affiliated  themselves  with  the  new  national  organiza¬ 
tion  as  branch  societies  and  many  new  branch 
societies  have  been  formed. 

One  of  the  most  important  and  interesting 
features  of  the  Waldensian  Missions  is  their  educa¬ 
tional  work. 


11 


In  southern  Italy  and  Sicily,  in  the  districts 
which  give  the  largest  contingent  to  emigrants,  the 
Waldenses  have  flourishing  day  and  evening  schools, 
which  are  attended  by  thousands  of  children  and 
adults,  respectively.  These  schools  are  situated  in 
Rio  Marino  (the  Island  of  Elba),  Forano,  Falerna, 
Salle,  Vittoria,  Pachino,  Grotte,  Riesi,  Palermo  and 
other  places,  and  are  maintained  at  a  phenomenally 
low  expense.  For  example,  the  school  at  Grotte 
with  five  hundred  children  and  five  teachers  costs 
only  $750  a  year.  In  the  north  of  Italy  the  best 
Waldensian  schools  are  to  be  found  in  Florence, 
Leghorn,  San  Remo  and  Siena.  All  these  school 
buildings  are  used  also  for  the  evening  and  Sabbath 
schools,  and  thus  serve  a  triple  purpose.  As  an 
economic  problem,  the  education  of  these  people  in 
their  own  land  is  well  worth  the  consideration  of 
the  people  of  America.  Mr.  W.  S.  Munroe,  of  the 
State  Normal  School  at  Montclair,  New  Jersey,  who 
was  sent  by  the  United  States  Government  to  report 
on  educational  conditions  in  Italy,  says :  “The  Wal¬ 
densian  schools  are  now  the  best  one  finds  in  Italy, 
and  the  percentage  of  illiteracy  is  lower  in  the 
Waldensian  valleys  than  in  any  other  part  of  the 
kingdom.  With  the  very  limited  funds  at  their 
disposal,  one  marvels  that  they  could  accomplish 
so  much  and  do  their  work  so  well.  Their  teachers 
are  the  best  trained  that  I  have  found  in  Italy,  and 
their  methods  of  instruction  are  in  line  with  the 
most  progressive  countries  in  Northwestern  Eu¬ 
rope.” 

Philanthropic  institutions  have  been  founded 
in  many  cities,  including  four  hospitals,  five  homes 
for  boys  and  girls,  one  refuge  for  incurables  and 
two  homes  for  aged  people. 


12 


The  full  results  of  the  work  of  the  Waldenses 
can  not  be  known  unless  we  take  into  account  its 
effect  in  many  other  countries  to  which  converts  of 
the  mission  are  constantly  emigrating. 

This  is  especially  true  of  the  United  States. 
There  are  at  the  present  time  about  three  millions 
of  Italians  in  this  country.  There  are  now  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty  Italian  Protestant 
churches  and  missions  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  having  an  aggregate  Protestant  popula¬ 
tion  of  about  twenty  thousand. 

Of  the  above  three  hundred  and  fifty  churches, 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  have  been 
started  by  persons  who  have  been  converted  in 
the  Waldensian  missions  throughout  Italy  before 
they  emigrated  to  this  country! 

From  the  membership  of  a  single  mission  sta¬ 
tion  in  Sicily,  Grotte,  seven  Italian  Protestant 
churches  have  been  established  in  the  United 
States,  while  an  eighth  is  being  organized  in  New 
York  City  at  the  time  of  writing! 

To  appreciate  these  facts,  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  population  of  Italy  is  thirty-four  mil¬ 
lions,  of  whom  sixty-five  thousand  are  Protestants, 
or  less  than  two-tenths  of  one  per  cent.  These 
figures  for  Protestantism  include  a  very  consider¬ 
able  foreign  population  made  up  largely  of  English, 
Americans,  Germans,  etc.  It  will  therefore  be  seen 
that  while  the  Protestant  population  of  Italy,  in¬ 
cluding  foreigners,  is  less  than  two-tenths  of  one 
per  cent,  of  the  whole,  the  Protestants  in  the  Italian 
population  of  the  United  States,  all  of  whom  are 
Italians  and  their  children,  is  five-tenths  of  one  per 


13 


cent.,  or  more  than  two  and  one-half  times  the 
percentage  of  Protestants  in  Italy,  and  that,  under 
God,  this  has  been  brought  about  largely  through 
the  missionary  efforts  of  the  Waldensian  Church 
in  Italy. 

This  curious  and  interesting  fact  has  for  the 
many  good  people  who  prefer  to  emphasize  home 
work  in  their  efforts  and  gifts,  the  suggestion  that 
much  home  missionary  work  among  the  Italians  in 
the  United  States  can  be  done  more  effectively 
and  economically  in  Italy,  by  evangelizing  as  many 
Italians  as  possible  before  they  come  here. 

So  many  advantages  accruing  to  the  cause  of 
the  evangelization  of  Italians  in  the  United  States, 
from  the  Waldensian  Missionary  Work  in  Italy, 
have  been  discovered  in  this  country  that  a  new 
department  was  opened  by  the  American  Walden¬ 
sian  Aid  Society  several  years  ago  as  a  Bureau  to 
care  for  the  Religious  Welfare  of  the  Italian 
Protestant  Immigrant  and  Emigrant.  This  Bureau 
is  in  charge  of  Reverend  Professor  Alberto  Clot, 
for  a  number  of  years  Delegate  of  the  Waldensian 
Synod  to  the  Christian  Churches  of  America,  with 
headquarters  in  New  York  City,  and  two  colporteurs 
located  at  the  two  great  seaports  of  Italian  Emi¬ 
gration — Genoa  and  Naples,  where  the  scriptures, 
religious  literature  and  a  Guide,  prepared  by  the 
Director,  containing  information  regarding  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  United  States,  the  duties  and  require¬ 
ments  of  good  citizenship,  together  with  directions 
for  travel  that  will  assist  the  emigrants  to  reach 
their  destinations  at  points  distant  from  their  ports 
of  debarkation  in  the  United  States,  are  sold  or 
distributed. 


14 


This  course  has  been  adopted  because  it  has 
been  deemed  wiser  to  make  distribution  of  literature 
at  the  port  of  embarkation,  because  the  emigrant 
can  have  leisure  during  the  voyage  over  to  read 
what  has  been  given  to  him,  whereas  upon  arrival 
he  is  distracted  by  the  excitement  incident  to  land¬ 
ing,  and  by  his  strange  surroundings,  and  has  little 
time,  if  any,  to  read  at  all. 

This  historic  Church  which  has  lived  in  the 
furnace  of  trial  for  so  many  centuries  in  the  past 
is  undergoing  another  test  in  the  times  in  which 
we  live.  The  participation  of  Italy  in  the  great  war 
has  entailed  new  tasks  and  responsibilities  upon  the 
Waldenses.  There  are  now  about  4,000  men  from 
the  Valleys  and  the  Missions  throughout  Italy  in 
the  army,  of  whom  about  300  are  officers,  including 
a  Major  General  of  Artillery — a  man  of  fine  char¬ 
acter,  who  does  not  hesitate  to  distribute  tracts  and 
gospels  among  his  men — a  number  of  Colonels,  etc. 
Most  if  not  all,  of  these  men  are  Alpini,  the  world 
famous  Alpine  troops  of  Italy,  whose  exploits  in 
the  Austrian  Alps  have  proved  them  worthy  de¬ 
scendants  of  their  heroic  ancestors. 

The  Italian  Government  has  shown  its  appre¬ 
ciation  of  the  worth  of  these  soldiers,  and  its  liber¬ 
ality,  by  appointing  three  Waldensian  pastors  as 
chaplains  in  the  army,  with  the  rank  of  Captain. 
Sig.  Bosio,  recently  in  this  country  as  a  Delegate 
from  the  Waldensian  Synod,  is  chaplain  for  the 
Fourth  Italian  Army.  Another  is  chaplain  for  the 
Second  Army,  while  the  last  is  chaplain  for  the 
Third  Regiment  of  Alpini. 

The  war  has  worked  havoc  with  the  finances  of 


15 


the  Waldensian  Church.  Immediately  upon  its  out¬ 
break  it  cut  off  the  support  previously  received  from 
all  the  other  countries  of  Europe,  involving  a  loss 
of  $50,000  of  income.  In  addition  to  this,  the  en¬ 
trance  of  Italy  into  the  war  caused  the  absorption 
of  the  resources  of  the  country  for  military  pur¬ 
poses,  so  that  the  support  of  the  home  land  was 
also  seriously  affected.  Notwithstanding  all  of 
these  adverse  circumstances,  by  the  voluntary  reduc¬ 
tion  of  salaries  throughout  the  entire  Church  and 
mission  field,  and  by  the  dismissal  of  about  a  dozen 
evangelists  and  helpers,  the  work  has  been  so  far 
maintained  without  vital  loss  or  serious  diminution. 
Not  one  mission  or  station  has  been  abandoned. 
Devoted  men  and  women  are  remaining  at  their 
post  at  the  greatest  sacrifice  and  under  heavy  depri¬ 
vation,  that  the  gospel  work  may  go  on. 

Not  only  has  the  old  work  been  maintained,  but 
a  new  work  has  also  been  undertaken,  in  spite  of 
the  difficulties  involved  in  such  a  step.  It  is  a  work 
rendered  most  necessary  by  the  exigencies  of  the 
moment.  Reading  and  writing  rooms  for  the  sol¬ 
diers  and  sailors  of  the  Italian  army  and  navy  have 
been  opened  at  all  of  the  principal  centers  at  which 
troops  are  gathered — at  Turin,  Milan,  Verona, 
Venice,  Bari  and  Tarento — the  last  two  principally 
for  sailors  and  marines. 

These  reading  rooms  were  opened  with  the 
approval  of  the  military  authorities.  In  some  places 
the  general  in  command  of  the  division  attended 
the  opening,  or  has  since  visited  the  rooms.  In 
other  places  notices  of  the  opening  of  such  rooms 
were  posted  in  the  various  barracks  in  the  vicinity. 


16 


These  rooms  have  proved  a  great  success. 
They  are  always  filled,  when  the  men  are  off  duty. 
Hundreds  and  thousands  of  men  visit  them.  They 
are  supplied  with  both  religious  and  secular  read¬ 
ing — books,  magazines,  papers,  etc. — and  with  writ¬ 
ing  materials  and  facilities  for  using  them. 

The  present  financial  arrangement  is,  of  course, 
only  a  temporary  expedient.  The  maintenance  of 
the  old  work,  and  the  undertaking  of  this  new  work 
described  above,  besides  the  distribution  of  gospels 
and  tracts  among  the  soldiers  and  sailors,  and  other 
religious  work  in  the  military  camps  and  at  the 
front,  which  can  onlv  be  referred  to  here,  can  not 
be  kept  on  its  present  basis  without  the  receipt  of 
additional  help  in  the  immediate  future. 

An  appeal  has  therefore  been  made  by  Bishop 
Greer,  President  of  the  American  Waldensian  Aid 
Society,  for  a  special  fund  of  $50,000  to  supplement 
the  regular  gifts  of  the  Society  for  the  relief  of  the 
situation  caused  by  the  war. 

If  Christian  people  could  realize  the  importance 
and  value  of  the  present  opportunity,  there  would 
be  no  difficulty  in  raising  this  sum.  The  war  has 
marvelously  quickened  the  spiritual  life  of  the  Wal¬ 
densian  Church  and  has  increased  its  opportunity 
for  usefulness  amongst  the  Italian  army  and  people 
beyond  our  power  to  estimate. 

The  Waldensian  Church  is  rich  in  all  spiritual 
graces  but  poor  in  the  things  of  this  world.  She 
nevertheless  has  always  done  more  than  her  share 
in  giving  of  her  scanty  means  and  limited  resources 
for  the  evangelization  of  her  country,  and  her  coun¬ 
trymen  in  other  lands. 


17 


Dear  Christian  reader,  is  not  this  historic  little 
Church  a  fruitful  branch  of  the  vine  of -Christ? 
Does  she  not  have  a  strong  claim  for  your  support? 
Has  she  not  a  right  to  ask  your  prayers  on  her 
behalf,  that  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  may  send  forth 
laborers  into  His  harvest  in  Italy,  and  that  He  may 
move  the  hearts  of  His  children  to  provide  the 
material  and  financial  means  for  the  support  of 
this  great  work? 


18 


BRANCH  SOCIETIES 


BRANCHES 

Albany,  N.  Y. 

PRESIDENTS 

Miss  A.  M.  LeFevre, 

99  Lancaster  St. 

Atlantic  City,  N.  J. 

Rev.  Henry  Merle  Mellen,  D.D., 

41  S.  Pennsylvania  Ave. 

Augusta,  Ga. 

Rev.  Joseph  H.  Sevier, 

419  Seventh  St. 

Baltimore,  Md. 

Mrs.  B.  DeWitt  Cassler  (Treas.), 

9  W.  Chase  St. 

Boston,  Mass. 

Mrs.  Frederic  Cunningham, 

135  Ivy  St.,  Brookline. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  J.  Howard  Melish  (V.-Pres.), 
126  Pierrepont  St. 

Buffalo,  N.Y. 

Mrs.  Charles  H.  Seymour, 

1407  W.  Colvin  St.,  Syracuse,  N.  Y 

Carlisle,  Pa. 

Rev.  G.  M.  Diffenderfer, 

Lutheran  Church. 

Miss  Ruth  Cowdrey  (Treas.), 

North  Hanover  St. 

Chicago,  Ill. 

Rev.  Ozora  S.  Davis,  D.D., 

20  N.  Ashland  Boulevard. 

Cincinnati,  Ohio 

Mrs.  D.  B.  Meacham, 

3901  Reading  Road,  Avondale. 

Cleveland,  Ohio 

Miss  Carrie  B.  Smith 
(Treas.  and  Sec.), 

2022  E.  Seventy-seventh  St. 

Columbus,  Ohio 

Mr.  Foster  Copeland  (Treas.), 

City  National  Bank. 

Denver,  Colo. 

Rev.  P.  V.  Jenness,  D.D., 

2330  Downing  St. 

19 


BRANCHES 

Detroit,  Mich. 

Germantown,  Pa. 

Hamilton,  Canada 

Harrisburg,  Pa. 

Hartford,  Conn. 

Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Knoxville.  Tenn. 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Meriden,  Conn. 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 
Minneapolis,  Minn. 

Montreal,  Canada 

Newark,  N.  J. 

New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


PRESIDENTS 

Mr.  Henry  M.  Leland  (Hon.  Pres.), 
2984  Grand  Boulevard,  W. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Wray  Boyle,  D.D. 
(Pres.),  96  Blaine  Ave. 

Rev.  William  Porter  Lee, 

5516  Morris  St. 

Miss  Mary  McNab, 

136  Robinson  St. 

Mrs.  Henry  McCormick, 

301  N.  Front  St. 

Mrs.  D.  A.  Markham, 

22  Sumner  St. 

Rev.  Frank  Arnold. 

3642  Charlotte  St. 

Rev.  H.  B.  Smith,  D.D., 

512  W.  Church  St. 

Rev.  J.  C.  Pinkerton,  D.D., 

First  Lmited  Presbyterian  Church. 

Miss  Caroline  Curtiss, 

21  Linsley  Ave. 

Rev.  H.  M.  Bruins,  1015  Harmon  St. 

Miss  Anne  G.  Faries, 

806  Mt.  Curve  Ave. 

Rev.  George  Hanson,  D.D., 

Erskine  Presbyterian  Church. 

Mrs.  Robert  Scott  Tnglis  (  V.-Pres.), 
393  Ridge  St. 

A4iss  Charlotte  Drury, 

218  Redmond  St. 

Rev.  John  T.  Reeve,  D.D., 

902  S.  Forty-eightji  St. 

Rev.  J.  K.  McClurkin,  D.D., 
Shadyside  United  Presbyterian  Ch. 


20 


BRANCHES 

Poughkeepsie,  X.  Y. 
Rochester,  X .  Y. 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

St.  Paul,  Minn. 

.  .  !  i  »  t  , , 

San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Toronto,  Canada 

Trenton,  N.  J. 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Worcester,  Mass. 


PRESIDENTS 

Mrs.  Oakley  I.  Norris, 

Xoristynor,  South  Road. 

Miss  Lura  E.  Aldridge, 

341  University  Ave. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Moorhead,  D.D., 

First  United  Presbyterian  Church. 

Mr.  Bishop  H.,Schrjber, 

727  Fairmount  Ave. 

Rev.  William  H.  Oxtoby,  D.D., 
Theological  Seminary, 

San  Anselmo,  Cal. 

\’en.  ^rchdeacon  Cody,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
(Honorary  President), 

603  Jarvis  St. 

’  L  v  *  :  i  • 

Rev.  Henry  Collin  Minton,  D.D., 

440  Bellevue  Ave. 

Mrs.  Isaac  Pearson, 

1785  Lanier  Place. 

Mrs.  Archibald  McCullagh, 

29  Whitman  Road. 


